The Car Accident: First Aid Class

"Oh, no, watch out, Doug. That truck is not stopping!" Doug hit the brakes immediately as a transport truck drove through a red light hitting a small, blue car, which spun around and slammed into a telephone pole.

Doug and Leah got out of the car. No one moved in the other car. Its driver was slumped over the steering wheel.

The truck driver climbed down from the transport truck holding the left side of his chest. He appeared stunned, leaned against the truck and collapsed.

"Call 911!" Doug ordered.

"You do it," said Leah, quickly handing him the cell phone and heading to the truck driver. "He's having a heart attack!"

Earlier that day, Doug and Leah had argued about taking a First Aid class scheduled for that evening.

"Why on earth do you want to take First Aid?" the six-foot teenager had asked his twin sister. "We'll probably never need it."

"Just come with me tonight! It'll be fun. Besides that, Terry will be there." Terry was Doug's best friend. The First Aid class was not compulsory, rather one offered by the community to promote First Aid awareness.

"I know a bit about First Aid and CPR, but not a lot," Leah had replied. "Besides that we'll get a high school credit, if we pass the course."

"I guess," replied Doug. "In an emergency, we might not be able to save someone's life, but at least we will have tried. Not sure I like that mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, though."

"If it was your girl friend, you would not mind."

"You win!" said Doug. "We are going."

That evening, in the Emergency department of the local hospital, both drivers thanked the twins. Leah had saved the truck driver's life by doing CPR, immediately. Doug had used his sweatshirt to control the bleeding on the forehead of the person who drove the car.

"We missed our class," said Doug, apologetically. "Sorry."

"There'll be another one," said Leah. "Thank God that we were heading there tonight."